1. Seeking NIH Funding: Deconstructing the Alphabet Soup
Navigating the Research Enterprise
Rick McGee, PhD
Bill Lowe, MD
September 18, 2017

2. Learn the NIH website inside out!!! NIH.GOV
Deconstructing the website today but only tip of the iceberg…
Your time to ask ANY question about NIH – Stump the Experts!
Training and Career Development Awards
T and F Fellowships, K Career Development Awards
Research Funding Awards
R03 – 2 years, typically $50K/yr max, no renewal
R21 – 2 years, $275K max, $200K max/yr, no renewal
R01 – 3-5 years, no max, up to $250K/yr modular budget, can be more but must use detailed budget
R15 – Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) – for institutions with low NIH funding, $300K max
R34 – Clinical Trial Planning Grant, 1 year, usually $100K
K99/R00 – unique blend of training and research

3. Common Fund High Risk Awards
New Innovator Award – DP2 – “…a small number of early stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative new research approaches that have the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important problems in biomedical and behavioral research.” Early Independence Award – DP3 – “…supports exceptional investigators who wish to pursue independent research directly after completion of their terminal doctoral/ research degree or clinical residency, thereby forgoing the traditional post-doctoral training period and accelerating their entry into an independent research career.”

4. Newest Funding Types
NIGMS Maximizing Investigators Research Award for Early Stage Investigators (MIRA) (R35) RFA-GM – longer time (5 years), shorter and more general application, more flexibility NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35) – RFA-HL – (modeled after NIGMS MIRA) NHLBI Emerging Investigator Award (EIA) (R35) – RFA-HL The NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) (RFA-CA )

5. Other award types usually not for beginners
Other award types – U (Cooperative Agreement), P (Program Project/Center grants), etc.
Increasing number of pan-NIH and Common Fund award types
Critical to know eligibility requirements – e.g. usually faculty level appointment for R award as PI
Decoding award numbers…
1 R01 GM
5 R01 GM S1
1 = new, 2 = competing renewal, 3 = competing revision, = no-cost extension, 5 = non-competing continuation

6. Early Stage Investigators
New Investigators – disappearing from language really
Early Stage Investigator
“A Program Director / Principal Investigator (PD/PI) who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award. Intent to fund New/Early Stage Investigators at same rates as established investigators submitting NEW applications”
New category of Early Established Investigator (EEI)
Applications from ESI are clustered during review
Strongly encourage ESI to apply for R01 first-time funding rather than R03 or R21
For the WHOLE story see:

7. Key Topics and Links
NIH Institutes and Centers – they have unique missions and traits
Intramural vs. Extramural
Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs)
Requests for Applications – RFA’s
Program Announcements – PA’s
Notices
Research Training Options
Already funded grants – NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT)

8. Who at NIH can help you and when/how do you contact them?
Program Official
Scientist who works at the funding institute, manages the grant portfolio, source of information before and after review
Scientific Review Officer (formerly Executive Secretary)
May work at Center for Scientific Review (CSR) or an Institute funding the initiative
Can talk to re: fit of a proposal to a review group
Once review is done they can’t tell you anything
Fiscal Officer – only if grant is funded

9. Communicating with Program Officials
Nicole Moore, Director of the Office for Research Development will cover this in 2 weeks based on her previous role at NIH as a Program Official
We will also cover this with Scientific Review Officers after we talk about NIH Peer Review

10. Identifying the right Institute and Initial Review Group (IRG)
All grants first received and processed by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
Most grants reviewed by Scientific Review Groups (SRG) of CSR
Others reviewed by Institute-specific Review Groups
Will cover in depth during NIH Peer Review discussion
For anyone who can’t wait, here is a link to a place to explore….